SAS Snipers in Iraq

Early on a warm summer morning, a few hours before traffic began to fill the streets, a 16-man SAS patrol took up ambush positions around a Baghdad house, writes Sean Rayment.

The soldiers had been told that the house was a being used as a base by insurgents - and up to three suicide bombers were expected to leave it later that morning.

Dressed in explosive vests, they were fully equipped to hit a number of locations around the city. The bombers' targets were thought to be cafes and restaurants frequented by members of the Iraqi security forces.

The intelligence was regarded as "high grade" and came from an Iraqi agent who had been nurtured by members of the British Secret Intelligence Service, also known as MI6, for several months.

Expectation among the 16 soldiers, attached to Task Force Black (TFB), the secret American and British special forces unit based in the Iraqi capital, was high. Each member of the four four-man groups was a veteran of many missions where the intelligence promised much - only to deliver little.

The plan for Operation Marlborough was simple: allow the three suspected bombers to leave the house and get into the street, then kill them with head shots from the four sniper teams. Each team was equipped with L115A .338 sniper rifles, capable of killing at up to 1,000 yards.

The soldiers, liaising earlier with their commanders, had considered the option of entering the house and killing the terrorists - but that plan was regarded as too dangerous. The confines of the house would intensify the impact of any blast, killing everyone inside.

The SAS soldiers were told that it was vital that the three bombers would have to be killed simultaneously.

If one of them was allowed to detonate a device, scores of people could be killed or injured.

In support of the covert sniper teams was a Quick Reaction Force (QRF), which would provide a dozen extra soldiers within a few minutes in an emergency. The QRF was based in a secure location nearby and a team of ammunition technical officers were on hand to defuse the bombs.

A section of Iraqi police was also attached to the operation - although they were not briefed on the detail of the attack - to deal with any crowd trouble.

Meanwhile, 2,000 feet above the city of five million inhabitants, a CIA-controlled Predator unmanned air vehicle was providing a real-time video feed back to the TFB headquarters deep inside the secure green zone.

Shortly after 8am, Arabic translators, monitoring listening devices hidden inside the house, warned the operations centre inside the militarily controlled green zone that the three terrorist were on the move. The message "stand by, stand by" was dispatched to the four teams.

As the terrorists entered the street, a volley of shots rang out and the three insurgents slumped to the ground.
Each terrorist had been killed by a single head shot - the snipers having spent the past few days rehearsing the ambush in minute detail.

The SAS troopers had been warned that only a direct head shot would guarantee that bombs would not be detonated.

Only three of the four snipers fired, the fourth was to act as a back-up in case one of the weapons jammed or a sniper lost sight of his target.

The message that the terrorists had been killed was sent back to the SAS headquarters and the troops moved forward to check the bodies for life. As they gingerly approached it became brutally apparent that the .338 calibre round - the biggest rifle bullet used by the Army - had done its job.

Operation Marlborough was hailed as a complete success and one of the rare occasions on which the coalition has been able to deliver a decisive blow against suicide bombers.

IT can stop a car in its tracks, penetrate armour and kill at three-quarters of a mile, and has emerged as one of the SAS's most versatile and deadly weapons in the Afghan war.

The new British-made L115A .338 calibre sniper rifle is believed to have been used by special forces to make several "kills" during operations against the Taliban and al-Qaeda forces.

Although 2nd Battalion Parachute Regiment took the gun to Macedonia during the mission to collect weapons from ethnic Albanian rebels in the summer, the Afghan campaign is the first time the weapon has been fired - and has killed - in anger.

The L115A is a highly prized piece of equipment within the British Army - there are relatively few in use.

SAS patrols have devised simple but effective hit-and-run ambush tactics against Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters moving through mountain passes in lorries and pick-up trucks, and one Ministry of Defence official said, that in such circumstances, "The effect on the enemy would be devastating.

"The first round takes care of the pick-up truck or lorry by shattering the engine block and, as the Taliban fighters try to find out what's going on, they're taken out by the sniper. At 1,200 metres, with the shot echoing around a valley, they won't have a clue what's going on.

"This is a fantastic piece of kit. It can stop any car in its tracks by splitting the engine block in two, and it can also pierce the armour of light tanks or armoured personnel carriers. With a decent sniper, anyone within its range is a dead man - even if they are wearing body armour."

The SAS has access to a vast array of sophisticated weapons, but what its armoury lacked was a sniper rifle that was relatively light but could pack a powerful punch.

The weapon was chosen after extensive and rigorous tests carried out by the Infantry Trials Development Unit. Marksmen gauged the weapon's accuracy and reliability under the most extreme conditions in the Brunei jungle, the Omani desert and during the Alaskan winter.

The American Barratt Light .50 semi-automatic, a favourite weapon of the IRA, and the French PGM Hecate .50 calibre bolt-action sniper rifle were also tested, but the L115A emerged as the preferred option.

It is a bolt-action rather than a semi-automatic weapon. It has a magazine holding five rounds and is fitted with a telescopic sight. The gun fires a .338 lapua magnum bullet which can either be armour-piercing or incendiary, depending on the type of target.

The rifle came into service only this year and will be issued to 16 Air Assault Brigade, 3 Commando Brigade and elements of the Joint Rapid Reaction Force.

The L115A is manufactured by Accuracy International, based in Portsmouth. A spokesman for the company said: "We are under contract for the Ministry of Defence and, as this is a weapon used by the special forces, we are not prepared to comment further."

A team working with Malcolm Cooper, the twice Olympic and eight-time world champion rifle shot, is understood to have helped in the design.

The Accuracy International L115A Sniper's rifle in .338 Lapua is derived from the L96 Sniper's rifle in 7.62x51mm NATO. The .338 Lapua cartridge was adopted to permit longer ranged shots than were possible using 7.62mm NATO ammunition. Australian snipers are using a similar rifle called the SR98, also made by Accuracy International. The rifle can be fitted with a supressor to help confuse enemy troops as to the location of the sniper or sniper team.

"Leave the Artillerymen alone, they are an obstinate lot. . ." Napoleon

Those guys were probably goat herders, too. MI6 walks up, offers to sell them some EXPLOSIVE VESTS, then call the snipers in to erradicate them. They weren't suicide bombers and I know this because they were not in a million pieces yet. -but something about this makes me skeptical. I think it was a PR move and completely orchestrated. Three guys died, and rightfully so I guess since they intended on blowing stuff up, but man...

talk about entrapment, huh?

"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society. "-- J. Krishnamurti“The further a society drifts from truth the more it will hate those who speak it.” -- George OrwellTHIS IS WHO I AM: -LINK-

Those guys were probably goat herders, too. MI6 walks up, offers to sell them some EXPLOSIVE VESTS, then call the snipers in to erradicate them. They weren't suicide bombers and I know this because they were not in a million pieces yet. -but something about this makes me skeptical. I think it was a PR move and completely orchestrated. Three guys died, and rightfully so I guess since they intended on blowing stuff up, but man...

"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society. "-- J. Krishnamurti“The further a society drifts from truth the more it will hate those who speak it.” -- George OrwellTHIS IS WHO I AM: -LINK-

I am a conspiracy nut to a certain point Brokor, after all I do work for the b@stards.

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You're a Republican?

"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society. "-- J. Krishnamurti“The further a society drifts from truth the more it will hate those who speak it.” -- George OrwellTHIS IS WHO I AM: -LINK-

Lesser of two evils. Michael Badnarik spoke about that once. He said: "Let's say you were in prison. You have a 45% chance of having lethal injection, a 50% chance of being electrocuted, and only a 5% chance of escape. Which would you choose? Of course you would choose escape -you wouldn't choose the lesser of the two, which is lethal injection, you would choose escape."

"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society. "-- J. Krishnamurti“The further a society drifts from truth the more it will hate those who speak it.” -- George OrwellTHIS IS WHO I AM: -LINK-

How would you have it then? Right now, it is the best of a bad lot of governance systems, or so it seems to me. The Westminster system is too unstable, and oligarchies assume too much "for the good of the state" attitude is in the control group and is easily corrupted. Dictatorships, benign or otherwise are anathema. That leaves anarchy or a multi party system that suffers the same instability as in Westminster (or deteriorates to a single party arrangement.) Or so it seems to me.

And no, I am not confusing democracy with a republic. Interesting parallel between the names of the two major parties with political systems, tho'.

Simple, Ghrit: Stop voting for the two parties. Die Bold pretty much runs elections anyway, so what is the use of voting in the first place, it's not like your vote counts for anything...

We need to eliminate the two major parties and keep the platforms simple: along the route of protecting and operating within the limits and boundaries of the US constitution.

Most people don't even know that there are third party candidates out there who are fully capable of becoming servants of the People. They may not have ivy league educations and are not part of some secret society or death cult...but they can get the job done.

And I really think that's all this should be about. In a republic, our government should obey the will of the people.

"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society. "-- J. Krishnamurti“The further a society drifts from truth the more it will hate those who speak it.” -- George OrwellTHIS IS WHO I AM: -LINK-

WE want to be careful here.. if someone behind a mod control panel decides that they dont like our opinions we will find this thread in the inferno where it will die, we wouldn't want to offend anyone... but that said, Broker is correct, in my opinion, there is no difference between the two parties, our freedoms are disapearing little by little just the same.
personally I like the Constitution party, and I am a member and vote the party.

"Towards thee I roll, thou all-destroying but unconquering whale; to the last I grapple with thee; from hell's heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee.
Captain Ahab

Actualy theres no reason why anything would die from being moved to the inferno, you can post on it in the inferno the same as you can here and anyone who wants to have acess to the inferno can and they can also go there and read it and post.

Do what thy manhood bids thee do, from none but self expect aplause, he noblest lives and noblest dies who makes and keeps his self made laws....

Thanks guys, and man I apologize!! I have a BAD habit of getting off topic.

Again, my apologies. And I hope you guys like my site and my show. If any of you ever need any information or if you have suggestions, please feel free to contact me.

"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society. "-- J. Krishnamurti“The further a society drifts from truth the more it will hate those who speak it.” -- George OrwellTHIS IS WHO I AM: -LINK-

Actualy theres no reason why anything would die from being moved to the inferno, you can post on it in the inferno the same as you can here and anyone who wants to have acess to the inferno can and they can also go there and read it and post.

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Ok

"The Inferno is a private forum. Casual guests can't see it. All SM Staff can see it by default though and many of them have spouses/children that look over their shoulders at times.
"

"Towards thee I roll, thou all-destroying but unconquering whale; to the last I grapple with thee; from hell's heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee.
Captain Ahab

Its only private in the sense that you have to register for it. Kind of like you have to register to be able to post in most areas of the forum, you have to register for the board then you sign up for the inferno if you want. I mean you arent a mod and your able to see it and post there, so can anyone else who wants to. There are threads there that are added to most every day, one in particular has been going for several months.

Do what thy manhood bids thee do, from none but self expect aplause, he noblest lives and noblest dies who makes and keeps his self made laws....

Its only private in the sense that you have to register for it. Kind of like you have to register to be able to post in most areas of the forum, you have to register for the board then you sign up for the inferno if you want. I mean you arent a mod and your able to see it and post there, so can anyone else who wants to. There are threads there that are added to most every day, one in particular has been going for several months.

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I give up!

"Towards thee I roll, thou all-destroying but unconquering whale; to the last I grapple with thee; from hell's heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee.
Captain Ahab